Wellness and the myth of balance, part four: cultivating your superpowers

In this series, I explore the concept of “balance” as it is peddled in the multi-trillion dollar wellness industry. I explore why I think balance as a goal is unrealistic, false, and sometimes dangerous.

So far I’ve explained how the universe, ancestral traditions, and the human body are characterized not by perfect balance, but by the rising and falling of cycles in various systems. The point I am making through this blog series is that attempting to adhere to the optimal wellness ideals of perfect balance every day is unnatural and unnecessary.

Another aspect of our lives that is dominated by dynamic imbalance is who we are as people. Humans love categorizing things. Our brains are primed to pick out patterns, and that includes in other people, too. Psychology, pop psychology, astrology, and multiple other traditions and fields describe kinds of people or personality types, and how each type is dominated by different traits. While we each have our individual character, we can also be clustered with other people according to different broad categories. For example, some people are workaholics, and other people may be always ready to bring the fun. Some people excel at creative arts, and others are very good at systems analysis. Some people are very skilled at creating and maintaining relationships with others, and others are comfortable and effective working and being alone.

Your true self

No human being is without their area of excellence, and no human being is without their area of weakness. Oftentimes we may see a link between the two. The workaholic may struggle to enjoy rest or play time due to feelings of guilt. The person dedicated to play may find they are not considered reliable by the community. The gifted creative may struggle to pay enough attention to the boring, daily necessities of rent and taxes. Many of us easily point out our weaknesses, but may struggle to identify our strength. Wherever in ourselves we have this extremity, we have the potential to cultivate a superpower that becomes our gift to the community.

We see evidence of this superpower/ weakness dynamic not only on the level of the individual, but also on the level of nations. Much criticism is leveled at the United States for our over-the-top mythology of rugged individualism. One weakness of this trait is our failure to achieve meaningful collective action for the benefit of all. One advantage of this trait is we attract incredibly gifted people from around the world who want to come here because their individual star can shine in our country in ways that might be discouraged or impossible at home.

One of the greatest gifts you can bring to your family and community is an understanding of your superpower, lovingly cultivated and shared to lift up everyone. It always pains me when people are ignorant of their own gifts. Our culture as a whole values certain gifts more highly. The ability to connect with children is a gift so devalued people rarely even notice it, yet high level athletic skills are greatly admired and materially rewarded. That valuation in no way diminishes the importance of connecting with children, and how poor would we be if people with that superpower didn’t exercise it for the benefit of the community! So I ask you to discover your superpowers, born from your inherent imbalance, nurture them, and turn them outward so we all may benefit.

Some superpowers I’ve come across that I greatly admire include: looking on the bright side, being a center of calm in a chaotic situation, a willingness to go forward into danger for the benefit of others, an ability to make any stranger feel welcome, generosity, making things tidy, creative arts, the ability to engage in deep study, community creation, an openness to trying new things. I could go on and on.

What of those weaknesses? Everyone has them. That’s why we are all here together, that one’s weaknesses may be supported by another’s strengths. Yin and Yang interact to create that balance. All of us together generate the complete Yin Yang symbol, contributing our individual moments of Yin and Yang to balance the whole of humanity.

I would be very disappointed if everyone cultivated perfect balance. We would lose so many wonderful gifts and advantages. We really need everyone to bring their superpower, now more than ever.